Soldiers prepare for return to Ulster

THE Cheshire Regiment is preparing for operations again. Less than a year since they swapped their desert uniforms for green temperate kit, the regiment's soldiers are about to deploy to Northern Ireland.

THE Cheshire Regiment is preparing for operations again. Less than a year since they swapped their desert uniforms for green temperate kit, the regiment's soldiers are about to deploy to Northern Ireland.

They are going through their paces at the Army's specialist training facility on the south coast, brushing up on the hard-learned skills and drills that they used in Iraq last year.

Soldiers have been practising their urban and rural patrolling, as well as some of the softer aspects of soldiering such as community relations.

Captain Rob Prentice said: 'Modern soldiering is both physically and mentally demanding. The soldiers have to understand why we are here and what our role is.

'In addition to the traditional infantry skills, our soldiers need to be able to drive a range of vehicles, use computers and technical communications equipment and be experts with surveillance equipment.'

The role of the regiment in Northern Ireland will be to support the police in counterterrorist operations.

The Cheshires were last in Northern Ireland in 2002 and there has been significant progress in the province since then.